• Own-label brands, produced for major retailers, have grown in popularity throughout the European Union.
Traditionally, the idea of buying products with "own brand" in supermarkets – different supermarket-branded products, rather than an established brand – was considered a cheap option, the product quality itself being perceived as inferior.
Now, thanks to a series of factors, from marketing to the cost of living crisis, supermarket retailers, but also consumers, have shifted their paradigm, increasingly recognizing the value of these products.
According to the consumer behavior analysis company, circana, cited by FoodNavigator brands "private label" they hold in Europe 37,8% of the total value of consumer goods sales, which means approximately 229 billion euros.
The largest share of them is registered in Spain (47%), Germany (41%) and the Netherlands (40%), although the highest value in terms of sales is Germany, with 66 billion euros, and the Great Great Britain, with 48 billion euros.
A percentage of 60% of consumers no longer consider own brands as being of inferior quality to established brands. On the contrary, they actually believe that these products are as good as the well-known brands in aspects such as innovation, quality, reliability, adherence to the message conveyed and sustainability.
Optimum price-quality ratio
25% of the interviewees, taking into account the price factor, stated that own-brand products are superior to branded ones. Although they do not have the degree of promotion that a product from a well-known company benefits from, ASCENT these supermarket own brands are based on the reputation of the retailer and the quality of the product itself.
Major manufacturers in the food industry recognize that these products "private label" become competitive, causing real efforts to retain consumer loyalty for brand products. According to the company Circana, consumers who are loyal to private brands almost equal those who prefer established brands across Europe, with the rest being those who switch from one to the other.
In addition, consumption of private labels increased in all countries analyzed, but this was not always justified by price. The cost of living crisis was certainly the trigger for the rise in private label consumption. However, retailers did not stop there, continuing to develop their strategy to offer consumers premium, quality and innovative products, thus ensuring their success in an extremely competitive market.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
Read on White Art and: Price becomes the deciding factor in purchasing a product
